


Last Hope

by ludgatesdyer



Series: Radiance [1]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Death, Gen, Kidnapping, Trauma, War, and all the other fun things that come with being queen!!, e & l are just friends!!, there is no romance in this at all, this is not a romance fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26228005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ludgatesdyer/pseuds/ludgatesdyer
Summary: It has long been presumed that Jadis assassinated every member of the Narnian royal family.That is exactly what it is - a presumption. Not the truth. A presumption.The Pendragons, descendants of King Frank and Queen Helen, are still alive and secretly fighting for their Narnian thrones in Archenland. When their cover is blown and High King George mysteriously disappears, his eldest daughter Lillian becomes High Queen at eleven years of age ; expected to lead armies to the battlefield and bring peace back to Narnia.When the young Queen runs away in the middle of the night and is kidnapped by Jadis, Lily must gather up all the endurance and strength she has to fight back and resist evil, alongside four prophets from a world beyond a wardrobe who are destined to save her homeland.
Relationships: Edmund Pevensie & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Radiance [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904941
Kudos: 10





	1. PROLOGUE ; missing.

**Author's Note:**

> SO. Here we go. My first Narnia fic that is more than one chapter. 
> 
> This will be updated once a week, but I'm starting university classes next week so that may change depending on how heavy my workload is. Regardless, I hope you love Lily and this story as much as I do :) If you want to talk about this fic, feel free to message me on my tumblr Narnia sideblog @ofsouthernsuns. Always happy to answer questions/talk about Lily!
> 
> P.S If you're like me and like to visualize characters, Lily's face claim is Millie Bobby Brown in the Enola Holmes movie that is set to come out in a few weeks. After I watched the trailer I just knew she had to be young Lily.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King doesn't return home.

_miss·ing_

_/ˈmisiNG/ _

_(of a person) absent from a place, especially home, and of unknown whereabouts._

Cair Paravel sits mighty but lonely atop a hill overlooking the glistening Narnian seas. Barren for a hundred years, the castle has surprisingly not begun to show any signs of molding or decaying. It looks exactly as it did before doom struck in the form of a greedy witch desperate for power, who later assassinated the inhabitants of the castle. The Narnian royal family, who ruled over the land since the beginning of time, was well thought to be dead. All of them. She, of course, believed that they were all dead ; that there was not a single remaining member of the family who would fight tooth and nail to reclaim their status and their thrones. 

Belief is a fickle thing, is it not?

What Jadis - sneering, power hungry Jadis - did not know was that she hadn’t killed _all_ of the Narnian royals. Quite a few of them survived her assassination attempts, and sought security in Archenland. Generations of kings and queens lived and died whilst secretly (and unsuccessfully) fighting for peace and sovereignty under the protection of the Royal Narnian Underground Council ; a council made up of wise men whose wit was beyond measure and somehow were able to trick Jadis into thinking that yes, she had killed all of the royals. They were waiting for the perfect time to strike. That time never came. Aslan has long told of prophets who would help the remaining monarchs save Narnia from eternal doom, but those prophets have yet to appear.

The council, now led by Lord Arthur Dunmoreth, is getting increasingly worried. Time is running out. The few aides in their homeland that have remained loyal to the monarchy have said that Jadis has a feeling she is being challenged by unknown forces, and she will not rest until she finds out who these unknown forces are. Things are getting worse, and if they don't act now, their covers will be blown and that will be it. The plan to reclaim the thrones will have failed, and Narnia will - as law states - perish into fire and water. 

High King George Pendragon is almost thirty-six now (he’s getting grey hairs but please don’t point that out to him as he’ll start rambling about the essence of time and how he feels older than he actually is). He, too, is starting to lose hope and his ability to sleep well at night. His ancestors have been unable to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. Now it looks as though he is also unable to do that. He chooses to sleep with one eye open and a sword at his bedside. 

What keeps George up at night is not the witch. He isn’t scared of her. As a child he swore to his father that he wasn’t afraid, and that he would never give in to fear. If she were to suddenly appear in front of him, waiting to take his life, he would stand tall and fight. No. That is not what makes his stomach turn and what wages an internal war between being asleep and being awake. 

The worry that plagues his mind is the fact that should he die, his eldest daughter Lillian (who absolutely despises being addressed by her full name and prefers Lily, thank you very much) will become High Queen. She is eleven. She is not ready yet. She is not equipped to lead armies into battle and plot against evil forces. She is intelligent and fierce and the bravest young woman he has ever known (many have often said she is a spitting image of him). She can wield a sword and shoot an arrow well - but she is no match for a witch. She will die before she even takes her place on the throne, and then her younger sisters, brother and mother will die after that because there is no one left to protect them and nothing left to fight for. They will be vulnerable. 

So he must stay alive. For her. For his whole family, but mainly her, so that she does not have to carry a burden as heavy as the crown she would wear. 

Unfortunately, that is not as easy as it seems, and one day while he is out walking in the woods admiring all of Archenland’s beautiful native flowers (as one does), he strays a little too far….and doesn’t return home. 

***

His wife, Vivienne, sends out troops to look for him as the sun sets in the sky. Among those is Lord Dunmoreth. Personally appointed by George as Head of Council nearly nine years ago, Arthur has a close relationship with the King and, by default, his entire family. His mind races thinking about the possibility that George could be dead, and he could have to relay the news to Lillian that the moment she has long dreaded since she was old enough to understand the way monarchy works has arrived. He can recall the fear in her eyes as he told the family that George was missing. She was terrified. 

He swears he heard her mutter _“Please don’t make me Queen.”_ over and over again under her breath as he departed the room. 

As day turns to night and there is still no sign of George, Arthur turns to face his comrades.

“He’s gone,” He says breathlessly. “We must go back.”

“We cannot abandon the search for him now, sir,” One man speaks up. “George is our King. Abandoning the search for him would mean abandoning all our life’s hard work - and the hard work of the brave men who have come before us - to _protect_ and salvage the monarchy.” 

“We don’t have time,” Arthur retorts, his fists clenched. “It is safe to assume that _she_ found him, and she killed him, and she is most likely onto us. We must return to the castle to wake High Queen Lillian because she has absolutely no idea that the fate of Narnia now rests in her hands and her hands alone."

High Queen Lillian. Aged eleven. The youngest monarch in Narnian history. 

"She is Narnia’s last hope,” The man from before speaks up once more. "Should she fail, Jadis will truly win."

Narnia's last hope, indeed. 

  
  



	2. CHAPTER ONE; heir.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nightmare becomes reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god i wanna give lily a big hug in this chapter :((

_heir_

_ /er/_

_noun_

_a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death._

Lily’s curly brown hair framed her face as she lay awake in bed, eyes anxiously darting around her room waiting for a sign - a word, a footstep, anything - that the men her mother sent out had found her father alive and well. She got down on her knees and prayed to Aslan before she climbed into bed earlier. She told him to keep her father alive and to bring him home. 

She wondered if praying would be enough. She hoped it would be, but she wasn't sure. 

She remembered overhearing discussions council members had with her father in the past few weeks ; rumours of Jadis finding out about the surviving royals starting to feel more like facts as panic, worry and unease started to set into the castle. The castle that wasn’t really home because Cair Paravel was home, and one day her and her family would be able to leave Archenland and go there and sit upon the thrones their ancestors had sat on for decades before tragedy struck. They would be in Narnia. They would be home.

Her father, as always, was stoic and courageous. When Lily had come to him seeking the truth to those rumours, he told her what he had always told her ; that he would fight and he would win. He also told her to stop listening into private conversations meant for adults, but Lily couldn't stop herself from going back and listening in again and again and again. She needed to know what was going on and what her family was up against.

She was born a secret, she has lived her whole life a secret - at what point would she stop being a secret? She was tired of being escorted with extra security to the castle gardens, or anywhere, really. The fact that she couldn't go anywhere alone, except for her bedchambers, made her angry. Sometimes, on guarded walks, she would look at other young girls playing in fields with their friends and feel her heart sink. While those girls only had to worry about pretty dresses and bright flowers, Lily was worrying about death and war and the downfall of her family's empire. She also envied them because they had friends. She had none. She'd never even had _one_ growing up. At what point would she be able to live her life as a young girl should, free of fear and terror?

A normal, worry-free life looked like a distant memory as Lily awaited news about her father. If, Aslan forbid, _if_ something had happened to him, what would she do? Her father is her conscience and her backbone. The one that taught her how to use weapons and fight for herself. The one that helped her plan out their family’s future in Narnia ; what kind of balls they’d hold and what colours they’d paint all the rooms. The one that promised her he would never leave her until Aslan called him away to his country once he had lived all the life he could.

Lily swallows the lump in her throat and grips onto her sheets like a lifeline, her knuckles turning white. This isn’t supposed to happen. Her father is supposed to defeat Jadis and her army, restore peace to their homeland, and lead them to a bright future. He’s supposed to die of old age after having lived a long, successful life.

Only then will she be High Queen of Narnia.

She’s not supposed to be High Queen at eleven years old. She doesn't know the first thing about ruling a country. People trust her father. They wouldn't trust her ; so young and fragile. Her father had time to figure out what being a monarch meant, as he was twenty-five when his own father had died. Time would not be as kind to her as it had been to him. She would have to spring into action immediately, attempting to rebel and leading armies onto the battlefield and watching _her_ cut through them like trees, leaving her alone and scared and bloodied with no one left to cling to. She’s had nightmares about this before (more recently ever since she started listening in to council meetings) and they’ve all ended in her screaming at the top of her lungs and being embraced and reassured by her parents. 

“ _It’s okay, Lily. She can’t hurt you._ _It’s all in your head._ _We’ll defeat her, won’t we, my dear? We’ll defeat her and then we'll finally be able to go to Narnia."_

_"Home, Lily. Home. Doesn't that sound exciting? We'll all finally be able to go home, and we won't have to fight anymore."_

If only this were all a nightmare she could wake up from.

***

She heard people talking in hushed tones and moving in shuffled rhythms outside her door. It sounds as though her mother is crying. She shuts her eyes quickly, pretending to be asleep (her mother will be displeased if she finds out she hasn’t slept a wink). 

“Please keep me a Princess, Aslan,” She whispers, forcefully brushing a tear away from her eye. “I don’t want to be High Queen. I just want my Father. Is that too much to ask for? Can't I have what all the other girls have for once?"

The door opens. 

“Your Majesty?” Lily hears Lord Dunmoreth’s familiar, comforting voice. She opens her eyes to find him standing by the foot of her bed, accompanied by two other men and her mother, red faced with tear stained cheeks.

“What’s going on?” She asks, her voice hoarse. She’s not sure why she asked that ; she knows damn well what’s going on and she doesn’t want to believe it. Her father was the strongest man she'd ever known. He could fend for himself. Nobody could strike him down. He's not gone, is he? 

“We have decided to abandon the search for King George,” Lord Dunmoreth replies, his voice threatening to crack. “He is nowhere to be found.”

“That’s not true,” She gets out of bed, standing tall and confident and brave. She has her father's fire in her, so she's been told many times, and here it is on display. There's got to be a mistake ; a crack in the story he's telling. “You’re willing to give up on my father after everything he’s done for you, Lord Dunmoreth? You’re giving up on him after only searching for him for mere hours? You have to go and-”

“Lily…” Her mother calmly interjects and saunters over to her, choking a sob but taking the time to wipe a tear away from Lily’s cheek instead of keeping check of her own emotions. That's when Lily starts to realize that something very wrong is happening. “There is no time. Jadis found your father. She’s onto us."

“You don’t know that she...she-” Lily’s face falls flat. The emotions shown on the faces belonging to those around her prove that her worst nightmare has come true. She can't wake up from this. It's happening in real time.

“Your reign of rebellion and hope has begun,” Lord Dunmoreth breaks the silence because he has to, and all of a sudden the pieces fall into place in front of Lily. She can't turn away. 

This is not her grandfather's reign. This is not her father's reign. This is _h_ _er reign_. And she’s probably going to die before they can proclaim her as their Queen.

Lily knows what's coming next. She shuts her eyes tight, curling her hands into fists and digging her fingernails into her palms until she feels pain. 

"Long live Lillian, High Queen of Narnia.” 

A beat.

Lily reflects on how horrid that title sounds rolling off his tongue and then collapses to the floor, screaming and sobbing until her lungs give out.


	3. CHAPTER TWO; steadfast.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Chapter 2! 
> 
> I'm sorry if these chapters seem short. AO3 tends to make chapters look shorter than they actually are. This chapter was three and a half pages (nearly four) on Google Docs, though it certainly doesn't look like it here, which makes me mad. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy reading about Lily putting men in their place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new High Queen cannot hold her tongue in her first council meeting.

_stead·fast_

_/ˈstedˌfast/_

_adjective_

_resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering._

There’d been no proper coronation for the young High Queen, as there was simply no time. A proclamation had been made via a legal document signed by members of the council, and shared with castle staff and neighbouring allies. Lily caught a glimpse of it before councilmen crowded around to make a list of everybody who needed to be notified. It made her heart drop because it made it all seem truly real.

“ _ON THIS DAY, THE REIGN OF HIGH KING GEORGE HAS ENDED IN DEATH. THUS BEGINS THE REIGN OF HIS ELDEST DAUGHTER, HIGH QUEEN LILLIAN, FIRST OF HER NAME. MAY SHE RULE LONG AND WELL AND BRING PEACE TO HER HOMELAND._

_LONG LIVE THE QUEEN._

_SIGNED BY MEMBERS OF THE NARNIAN ROYAL UNDERGROUND COUNCIL.”_

Death. Why did they all still seem absolutely certain that he was dead? Lily wondered if they had any common sense about them. There was no body. There were no witnesses. How could they just say he was dead but have no evidence to prove it? As councilmen frantically departed their meeting chambers to relay the message, Lily bit down hard on her bottom lip, hard enough for it to almost bleed, as to refrain herself from shouting at them, because that is not how a High Queen behaves. No. A High Queen stands tall and applauds her councilmen for the hard work they do. A High Queen does not berate them. It is simply not right. 

News of her father's disappearance spread like wildfire after she and the rest of her family had been made aware, and panic set in very quickly. She senses it ; people rushing up and down the staircases and discussing the possibility of death and a war that will make the history books. Lily pretends she doesn't hear them, but she does, and it scares her. If what Lord Dunmoreth said was true - if Jadis really did murder her father - that meant she was coming for the rest of the Pendragons next, and everyone had to be ready for that. People began whispering all the what-if’s and how’s and, more importantly, how they feared that George’s eldest daughter would fail at bringing peace to Narnia just like all those before her. While the youngest monarch in Narnian history is adored by all who reside with her in Archenland, questions arise about her ability to lead men into battle and defeat a woman much older and much more powerful than she could ever dream to be. 

Lily hears these whispers. She has never been able to turn a blind eye to criticism. If someone tells her to stand up straighter or to pick a new dress because the one she planned to wear does not suit her well, she will obey it because she does not want to disappoint anyone. Her mother always tells her to ignore what people say and to focus on what’s really important, but she has always found it difficult to ignore what is said about her. This, especially, eats at her because she knows they’re right. How could a young, feeble girl possibly lead a revolution? She is not old enough to fully comprehend what lies before her, as she's heard some say.

She believes this is certainly going to end in loneliness and bloodshed and death. She wishes that Aslan could send her those prophets who are destined to help her and her family - the prophets who were supposed to arrive ages ago but never did. Lily had lost hope before and told herself that they would never come, but now that hope has been restored. She needs them. She really needs them. 

***

Her father always told her and her siblings to be steadfast; never fear, never retreat. After all, the meaning of their last name is "dragon's head", and dragons are brave creatures who breathe fire and make people fear them. Lily has never had any difficulty being steadfast, except for right now, sitting in the council meeting chambers surrounded by adult men who clearly prefer her father over her already, and it has only been five hours since she was officially proclaimed the next Narnian monarch.

Lily knows they’re not used to a monarch showing this much uncertainty in a council meeting. She’s silent (her father was never silent). She hasn’t said anything (her father always had something to say). She hasn’t yet come up with a clever plan (her father always had a clever plan, or two, or three). However, there's not much she can do when she has struggled to string a complete sentence together all day, hasn't eaten breakfast, and has nearly fainted from exhaustion and panic three times since she heard the news. Then again, Lily assumes everybody in this room looks at her as a monarch and not as a person, and they will disregard the aforementioned in favour of discussing politics and war.

“Your Majesty,” Lord Orpheus, one of her father’s most trusted companions, breaks the silence. Lily's eyes meet his. “I understand that you have just lost your father and you are having a difficult time processing this tragedy, but we need a plan.”

As if she needs reminding that her father is no longer here.

“We were already in danger before,” Lord Willeth completes his comrade’s thoughts. “We are in _grave_ danger now. We need to act immediately and with no hesitation. Your assistance is required, High Queen Lillian. We cannot make any decisions without your input.”

Lily says nothing because she has no idea how to respond to that. She is well aware that she needs to have a plan, but her mind is blank. She thinks about what her father would do if he were here ; how he would make a strategic and sensible plan in a matter of seconds. She has been told many times that she is extremely intelligent for her age, but she certainly does _not_ feel intelligent right now. In this moment she thinks that Arabella, her sister who is one year her junior and who has often been told that her wit excels at a rate incomparable to most other girls, would succeed in this meeting instead of her.

“Well,” She begins, nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of her blue dress underneath the table. “I assume the only option is war.”

“It _is_ the only option. You are correct, Your Majesty,” Lord Welkare chimes in. “But how must we go about it?”

“Isn’t there only one way to go about war?” Lily retorts. “Fighting to the death?”

“Yes, but there is more to it.” Lord Dunmoreth replies. “Everybody’s lives are at stake, especially yours and your family’s. We would have to make a plan. We would have to relocate them to somewhere safe ; somewhere Jadis wouldn’t look.”

Lily cannot hold her tongue. Relocating her family to somewhere safe, not knowing if she would ever see them alive again? Her heart broke at the thought of saying goodbye to her mother, and Arabella, and Elyse, and William, and then never being able to say another word to them. She shutters thinking about her family's dead bodies sprawled out in front of her. She would never forgive herself if they were murdered. She would think it was all her fault. She already lost her father. She couldn't bare to lose anyone else. 

“Why do all of you assume that Jadis is the one who killed my father?” She inquires, craning her neck to ensure she’s grabbed the attention of every single man in the room. “In fact, why do all of you assume that my father is dead at all? He could have been kidnapped! He could be a hostage somewhere, terrified and alone! He could be alive! He needs-"

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” Lord Willeth raises a hand, interrupting Lily. “There is only one explanation for your father’s disappearance. I know it. The rest of these men know it. Your mother knows it. You know it too. No one else has a prejudice against your family except for her.”

“You don’t have any evidence!” Lily stands up from her chair, slamming her fist against the table. Her father never acted like this in a council meeting. He was calm and stoic. She could not be either of those things right now. “You have nothing! You looked for mere hours before you decided to give up! Do you expect me to forgive any of you for that?”

“Your Majesty-” Lord Dunmoreth attempts to calm her, but to no avail.

“No,” Lily says through gritted teeth. “I understand that I am High Queen. I understand that I have a duty, and that duty is to assist you, but I will not assist you if you are all simply willing to jump to false conclusions without evidence and give up on my father after all he’s done for every single one of you in this room. It is unfair. I will not wrong him like this."

Silence. Again. This time it is deafening.

"I shall go myself. I shall find him and bring him home."

Without another word, Lily spins on her heel and departs the room.

Never fear. Never retreat. 


	4. CHAPTER THREE; departure.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily's plan springs into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm so sorry for the delay. I wanted to update this sooner, but I've been super busy with schoolwork. This chapter is shorter than the others because I didn't really have enough time. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

_de·par·ture_

_/dəˈpärCHər/_

_noun_

_the action of leaving, especially to start a journey._

  
  


_Mother, Arabella, Elyse and William,_

_I apologize for not telling you this in person. I wish I was able to. However, time is of the essence._

_I have decided to go and search for Father on my own, since no one else is willing to do it. By the time you read this, I’ll be gone. I understand that you will not take kindly to this decision, given that it puts the throne (and, more importantly, my life) at risk once again, but it must be done. Father is alive. I know it. I have to find him._

_I will return very soon, hopefully with Father in tow. Please don't worry about me._

_Forevermore, I am_

_Your beloved daughter and sister,_

_Lily_

_x_

As night falls in Archenland, Lily sits at her desk in her bedchambers reading over a letter she’d penned to her family, ensuring that it is free of mistakes. Her eyes wander down to the end of the letter, where her signature is. She runs her thumb over it, It seems so odd, just seeing her name and not the seemingly endless amount of titles afterwards. She wonders if her father felt the same way when he read all those legal documents he used to have to read every day ; the same one she now presides over. 

To her family, she had always been Lily (never Lillian, unless she was in trouble, which wasn’t often). Her parents called her ‘darling’ or ‘sweetheart’. Arabella called her ‘Lils’. Elyse and William called her ‘Lil’. They have always loved one another fully and completely ; seeing past the titles and the crowns and the thrones. For Lily, that is what makes leaving them so difficult. 

She wonders what her family will think in the morning when they see that she's absent from the table at breakfast. Her mother will immediately panic, fearing that her daughter has been kidnapped or murdered in the dead of night, suffering the same fate as her husband. Arabella will pace frantically around the halls, calling out only to get no response, hearing her own voice echoing the corridors instead of Lils’. Elyse will look under every bed, in every cupboard, over every railing, in hopes that Lil is just playing a lengthy game of hide-and-seek. William, though far too young to fully grasp the severity of the situation, will still sense that something is wrong and wonder why Lil hasn’t come to play tag in the gardens yet.

They're all going to be angry. She knows that. They won't be when she returns home with her father, though. They'll understand why she did what she did. 

She also wonders what the council will think. Their reactions are of less importance to her than those of her family, but still important nonetheless. Presumably, they all thought that what she said at the meeting earlier was nothing but an empty threat ; meaningless words that rolled off her tongue as part of an overdramatized reaction, and perhaps that is why they never told her mother about it, because they believed that she was lying. They would, of course, go out and search for her once they discovered she was missing, but would deem her actions immature and inexcusable. How could she just run off mere days after being crowned? 

Despite all of this - despite knowing that her family will be worried sick for her and the councilmen will never look at her the same way again - she knows that this has to be done. She knows that her father is alive, and she has to get him back home. Everything is against her ; her family, her council, the odds, but none of that matters. All that matters is that she returns home with her father. 

She stands up from her chair and delicately places the letter on the cushion, knowing that the next time it is read it will not be by her eyes. Grabbing her favourite black cloak, she takes one last look at her surroundings - the bedchambers in which she has slept and dreamt in for eleven long years - and carefully opens the door. 

***

It is eerily quiet as Lily makes her way down the cascading staircase, careful not to do so much as cough or sneeze. Nobody is awake this time of night, but they would be if they heard something, and if they heard something then her plan would be ruined and she would face consequences (Lily doesn’t exactly know what these consequences would be, but she knows they would be quite bad).

Then, out of nowhere, a person. A word. A noise.

 _Oh no_.

“I thought you understood this, Arthur,” She heard Lord Welkare’s voice from down the hall, clearly agitated. “Although you are head of the council, you cannot make any decisions without properly informing the rest of the council first and, of course, Lily.”

Lily rolls her eyes. Of course the council is already making decisions without her approval. Why would she expect any different? The council always had the utmost respect for her father. They would bow and nod their heads and promptly side with him on any decision he made - any law he wanted to pass, any foreign diplomats he wanted to speak to. Anything and everything would be done for George. Nothing would be done for Lily - young and feeble and, not to mention, a _girl_.

“Damn those rules.” She heard Lord Dunmoreth retaliating now, “The safety of the royal family is of utmost importance. I don’t have time to consult people. We simply cannot allow them to go anywhere or do anything. Not when Jadis is on the move. We must lock down the castle.”

_Lock down the castle? Jadis? Not allowed to go anywhere or do anything?_

“But if you just-”

“Lock down the castle, Edward. _Now_.”

If she didn’t leave now, she would never leave.

Quickly and quietly, she ran on the balls of her feet - like a ballerina preparing to do a large jump or spin - towards a back door, where there were fewer guards and a lesser chance of her being caught. Behind her, she could hear councilmen starting to make preparations for the supposed lockdown. 

“We must let the Queen know.” Lord Welkare said in a hushed tone to his comrades. "And her family."

 _No. Don’t look back_.

She removed a pin from her cloak and unlocked the door (it was a trick Arabella taught her a few years ago), opening it with little force as to not alert anyone. One wrong move and this plan would fail before Lily got the chance to fully spring it into action. She needed to be precise. She needed to do this right.

Once the door was half open and there was enough room for her to squeeze in, she stepped out. She felt the cool air on her face and the leaves crunching beneath her feet.

And then she ran. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple people have asked about the ages of the Pendragon siblings. Here they are!
> 
> Lily - 11  
> Arabella - 10  
> Elyse - 8  
> William - 6


	5. CHAPTER FOUR; consequence.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young girls should never be out in the woods alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the best chapter I've written so far...

_con·se·quence_

_/ˈkänsikwəns/_

_noun_

_a result or effect of an action or condition._

Lily’s legs haven’t ached this much since she played a rather lengthy and complicated game of hide-and-seek with her siblings in the castle gardens a few weeks back (supervised, of course, because no one ever let them out of sight).

She was the one tasked with finding Arabella, Elyse, and William, and all of three of them were experts at the game, so it took quite a long time for her to find them. It took her a solid hour to round them up ; Elyse was last to be found because she was the best at it out of all of them. She took to hiding in a field of flowers that Lily somehow never bothered to look in. The siblings all fell to the ground laughing once they found her with her dress covered in dirt and daisies in her hair.

They played two more games after that, and Lily didn’t win either of them, but she didn’t mind that. All that mattered was that she was having fun with her siblings ; feeling normal for the first time in a very long time. 

Now, her legs are aching not because she can’t find her siblings during a game of hide-and-seek, but because she can’t find her father during the midst of a war. It’s the worst pain she’s ever felt. She feels as though she’s going to fall down at any second ; her knees buckling every step she takes. It’s agony, but she can’t turn back now. The plan is in motion, and it can’t be stopped. 

She’s not sure how long she’s been on the run for. The moon is still in the sky, opaque and pale and following her like a trusty companion, so she figures it’s either still nighttime or early morning. To her surprise, she hasn’t been caught yet. She initially assumed that at least someone - a councillor, one of her ladies in waiting, perhaps even one of her siblings - would take note of her absence. Surely someone would notice that the High Queen was missing, right? For now, it’s just her and the moon, on a lonely adventure in a forest looking for someone who needs to be found. 

There’s been no sign of him. She’s called his name numerous times, so much so that her voice is hoarse from all the yelling she’s done, only to get no response. She knows that he can’t be out in the open. She knows he’d be hiding somewhere, trying to stay as hidden as possible. She’s looked in streams and in trees with no luck. She’s been careful, of course, knowing that one of Jadis’ soldiers could very well be here on guard. She couldn’t risk being taken. 

If _he_ had been taken by Jadis, surely he would’ve escaped. There was no way he would willingly stay locked up in her castle, waiting to be killed if he hadn't been already. He certainly would’ve found a way out. Maybe not a way home, but a way _out_. 

Her father is playing hide-and-seek, and he’s good at it. Perhaps not as good as Elyse, though. 

***

 _“Terrible things happen to people who are walking in the woods late at night._ ” Mother’s voice is in Lily’s head as she tightens her grip on her cloak. The wind is picking up now, harsher and stronger than before. Her eyebrows furrow. There’s something odd about this wind. It’s definitely not the warm, brisk air of Archenland she knows so well. It’s cooler and crueler. 

A spontaneous change in the weather makes absolutely no sense to Lily. An early Archenland winter had not been predicted this year. She knows this because she and Arabella bet against each other ; she believed it would be an early winter, and Arabella believed the opposite. The winner got one of the loser’s most prized possessions. Lily lost, so she had given Arabella one of her favourite necklaces ; a gold chain with a star pendant. Arabella promised to take good care of it, and wore it from that day on, only taking it off when she slept. 

Lily wishes she had taken something to remind her of her family whilst on this journey. It would’ve made her feel less lonely. She could’ve taken one of her father’s rings, or a set of her mother’s earrings, or one of Arabella’s bracelets, or one of Elyse’s little dolls, or one of William’s blankets. Perhaps she’d feel closer to them, having a piece of them with her. Now, she feels so far away.

Finding her father is proving to be a difficult task ; much more difficult than initially anticipated. She wants to stop and rest for a while, but she’s certain that Jadis has soldiers stationed in this forest, though she hasn’t seen any herself yet. If she dares to stop in the wrong place at the wrong time she would be somewhere she doesn’t want to end up. However, Lily doesn’t know how much longer she can keep walking. If she continues, she may faint, and she doesn’t want to be unconscious should someone find her. 

“That tree..” Lily exhales as she stops in her tracks, a hand resting on her chest to feel her rapid heartbeat. She has found a lonely tree, separated from all of the other trees in the forest, just up ahead. It looks like a safe, isolated spot to rest and collect her strength for the next leg of the journey. “That tree looks safe. I shall stop there.”

She takes a deep breath and uses whatever energy she has left to trudge towards the tree, hiking up her skirts so that she doesn’t trip. She’s halfway there when she hears quiet, calculated footsteps. 

Her breath hitches. She walks faster, but whoever’s behind her is walking faster now too.

She’s been seen. 

_Faster. Faster. Faster._

She feels a branch hit her head, and then everything goes black.

As always, Vivienne Pendragon had been right. Terrible things do happen to people who are walking in the woods late at night.


End file.
